"I don't think it was entirely safe" - Mattias Skjelmose criticises run in to stage 2 finale at 2024 Vuelta a Espana

Much like the Tour de France earlier this summer, the 2024 Vuelta a Espana is testing out some of the proposed new UCI rules. One of these, is a change of the 3km rule, bringing the safe haven for general classification riders to 4km in an attempt to improve safety.

On stage 2 of the Vuelta a Espana however, a nasty crash rocked the peloton inside the final 4 kilometres, with the likes of INEOS Grenadiers duo Jhonatan Narvaez and Joshua Tarling among others coming down hard. Whilst, due to the 4km rule, all riders affected were given the same time as the lead group, the safety of the final run in to the stage has still drawn some criticism.

One of those voices not completely impressed, is Lidl-Trek's Mattias Skjelmose. Whilst the 23-year-old Dane wasn't one of those to hit the deck himself, the former Tour de Suisse winner shared his discontent at the finale to stage 2 in a post-stage interview with TV2.

"I think it's great that they've made this four kilometre rule. It made it a little better. But it was pretty much downhill all the way for the last few kilometres, and I don't think it was entirely safe," he explains. "Yes, it's pretty much downhill for the last 18 kilometres until we hit the roundabout. It just means that we're stronger and there's less margin for error."

In the end, Alpecin-Deceuninck's Kaden Groves avoided all the crash drama to sprint to the 5th Vuelta a Espana stage win of his career, as Team Visma | Lease a Bike's Wout van Aert, who finished second on the stage, moved into the Red Jersey and the overall race lead due to the bonus seconds he acquired in the final sprint for the line in Ourém, Portugal.